Heavy Mountain Path

"Little Fatty, what did you mean by this?"

A dark line appeared across Lin Chen's brow as he pointed at his own name and asked.

Third place would have been one thing, but all the information above his name either said confidential or unknown.

At the end, there was even a comment: This person is unfathomable; his strength cannot be assessed.

Seeing this, Little Fatty scratched the back of his head, his face piled with a flattering grin.

"Brother Chen, don't blame me. I originally wanted to put you in first place, but then... the two people ahead of you both paid, so I could only let you take third place."

"The gun shoots the bird that sticks its head out first. Don't you understand? Put me at the bottom right now. Change it!" Lin Chen threw the little booklet to Little Fatty and glared fiercely at him.

Little Fatty immediately looked aggrieved. "Brother Chen, everyone else spent money to rank higher and wanted themselves written as powerfully as possible, but you..."

"But what? Change it now." Lin Chen ordered impatiently.

Little Fatty lowered his head and fiddled with the booklet in both hands, like a child who had done something wrong.

"Brother Chen, I... I can't change it. All three hundred copies have been sold."

"How many?"

Lin Chen's shout instantly drew the attention of the people in front and behind him, and they all looked over.

He immediately grabbed Little Fatty by the collar, his eyes wide as he lowered his voice and threatened, "How much did you sell them for? Give me half!"

Lin Chen had thought Little Fatty would resist. He never imagined that this fellow would nod so readily.

"Brother Chen, I've been waiting for you to say that. Don't worry—every deal I make from now on, I'll split half the money I earn with you."

Seeing the fervent look on Little Fatty's face, Lin Chen immediately became wary.

He released him and asked coldly, "What's your name, and why are you approaching me?"

Little Fatty did not answer. Instead, he brushed the ring on his hand, and a pearl the size of a ping-pong ball instantly appeared in his palm.

Storage Ring!

Lin Chen's eyes filled with envy. This was standard equipment for cultivators.

He had not expected Little Fatty to have one from the very beginning.

Just what kind of background did this guy have?

"Brother Chen, this is the Origin Pole Pearl. My family's ancestor gave it to me. He also told me that whoever could make this pearl light up, I should make sure to befriend them..."

Lin Chen looked at the pearl, which flashed with golden light, and asked skeptically, "And then?"

"And then I wanted to become your friend. Oh, right, let me formally introduce myself. My name is Jin Yuanbao. I'm from Gold City, and I have a Gold-Earth Dual Element Root..."

Lin Chen could only exclaim inwardly, What a monster!

A Gold-Earth Dual Element Root was a High-Grade Spirit Root.

Not to mention a third-rate sect like the Green Mountain Sect—even major sects would fight to take in a genius like this if they found one.

And this guy actually wanted to be friends with him.

What was he after?

Just because of some lousy pearl?

"To tell you the truth, I have a Five Elements Waste Spirit Root. We're not on the same path. Stay away from me in the future."

After saying that, Lin Chen strode forward.

"Brother Chen, I don't mind." Jin Yuanbao pursued him relentlessly from behind.

Without turning his head, Lin Chen replied, "I mind."

He was not lying. So what if someone was a genius... Weren't people like that meant to be trampled beneath the feet of people like him?

Lin Chen walked faster and faster, as though treading on level ground.

This time, it took him less than two quarter-hours to reach the twenty-thousandth step.

When he looked back, hundreds of people were scattered across the Heavy Mountain Path, slowly advancing. Only Little Fatty was still following behind him.

Lin Chen ignored him and looked ahead. Around thirty people were leading him.

He also discovered that, at this point, a pressure had already settled on his body.

"So the stories in novels weren't lies after all."

He knew that this was the crushing pressure created by a Formation.

It was only around one times gravity.

But as he continued onward, the gravity slowly increased as well.

By the thirty-thousandth step, it had reached twice normal gravity.

If ordinary people suffered under such crushing force, how could they possibly climb the steps?

Yet Lin Chen merely felt a little heavier.

At last, Jin Yuanbao was left behind.

Only ten people remained ahead of him.

Actually, reaching this point already met the standard.

But those people ahead were still moving forward, surely holding the same thought as Lin Chen.

After taking only a dozen more steps, he felt a breeze pass by, and the scenery ahead twisted in an instant.

When it returned to normal, he had somehow returned to the scene of the Lin Family's massacre.

That night, even the moon had been veiled in a layer of blood-red.

Blades and swords gleamed, while flames shot into the sky.

The air was thick with the stench of burning and dense blood.

"Chen'er, remember, don't seek revenge. Live well..."

Lin Chen saw himself being personally shoved into the cellar by his father.

Through the crack, he saw a sword-wielding cultivator standing opposite his father.

He could not see the cultivator's face. He could only see that the cultivator wore a Blue Robe, and on the back of the hand holding the sword was a Diamond Purple Birthmark.

This was a detail absent from the memories he had fused with.

If this was real, then the purpose of this illusion Formation should have been to awaken the deepest fears within one's heart.

However, Lin Chen had known from beginning to end that he was taking an examination.

The appearance of the illusion did not affect him in the slightest.

But he was in no hurry to break it. Instead, he continued watching as an observer.

He searched for details of this family-destroying calamity.

Unfortunately, apart from that diamond-shaped purple birthmark and the identical Blue Robes, there were no further clues.

The instant he silently recited, This is an illusion. I am taking an examination, he saw a human face through the crack in the cellar.

That face was somewhat blurred, but its eyes were purple.

He was startled.

Then the scene abruptly shifted.

He was already lying atop the wall of the City Lord's Mansion, secretly watching its people cultivate.

In truth, this was how he had cultivated to Body Tempering Layer 1—by secretly learning from them.

But what he saw in the illusion was clearly different.

When he had secretly learned before, he could only grasp one or two parts out of ten.

Now, as he secretly learned, he could understand everything completely.

He even began practicing it himself.

Before he knew it, he had become immersed in it.

When he finally stopped, the illusion before his eyes had already vanished.

Yet he sensed something different within himself.

Before he could savor it, he suddenly saw that Jin Yuanbao had somehow arrived beside him.

This fellow's face was twisted, sweat streamed down his body, and his eyes were bulging round.

He was clearly experiencing the fears within his heart as well.

Looking at the people ahead, some were swaying, some had already collapsed onto the steps, and some were even rolling desperately across them.

Only three people stood firmly in place, completely motionless.

Lin Chen checked the time and discovered that an entire hour had somehow passed since the beginning.

"No, I need Spirit Stones."

An incomparably powerful conviction rose in his heart, driving him to quicken his pace and advance rapidly.

At the same time, Elder Liu atop Mountain Peak gave a soft exclamation.

He took out a jade token and inspected it quickly. "This child is named Lin Chen and comes from Clearwind City.

Information sent over half a month ago showed that he was only at Body Tempering Layer 1, with an exceedingly frail body. How did he climb to the thirty-thousandth step so quickly?"

"Elder Liu, he was the first to awaken from the illusion."

An elder standing beside him also praised, "With such resilience and perseverance, even if he has a Mid-Grade Spirit Root, he can still be nurtured."

Hearing this, Elder Liu raised his brows slightly and gave a dry cough. "He has a Five Elements Root."

Upon hearing those words, all the other elders wore regretful expressions.

"If it's a Five Elements Root... Ahem, let's see what happens next!"

After learning this, the elders immediately lost interest and turned their eyes toward the others.

Lin Chen had no idea of the elders' discussion. He strode upward in great strides.

An hour later, he had left everyone far behind, standing out like a lone rider racing through the dust.

He had reached the sixty-thousandth step.

Of those behind him, the fastest had only reached the fifty-thousandth step.

And there were only two of them.

The remaining dozen or so were struggling forward around the forty-thousandth step.

Farther behind, even their figures could no longer be seen.

Lin Chen looked back. The pressure where he stood had already reached ten times gravity.

A body weighing one hundred jin had to endure a crushing force of one thousand jin.

To be honest, an ordinary Body Tempering Peak cultivator could only barely remain standing.

Below Body Tempering Peak, one's bones would be crushed and broken.

Lin Chen had begun to gasp as well. Every breath was like a bellows being pulled, and his chest burned fiercely.

The muscles throughout his body began to tremble, and sweat soaked him through.

"These Spirit Stones aren't easy to earn!" He felt that he could at most climb another few thousand steps.

[ Ding! Congratulations, host, for comprehending the Incomplete Body Forging Art within the illusion. This art does not rank among the streams and can use Gold Coins to exchange for cultivation, raising it to the peak perfected level. ]

"Oh-ho!"

Lin Chen grinned. "System, you really get me. Exchange it immediately."